


Time

by Completely_not_myself



Category: Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Abuse, Gen, Harm to Children, Rape, Slavery, Trauma, non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-29
Updated: 2014-08-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 06:44:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2219634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Completely_not_myself/pseuds/Completely_not_myself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Evvy never met Briar?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time

**Author's Note:**

> not even sorry

My back had been against the wall. Three of them jumped me, it wasn't fair really, three men against an eleven year old girl. Gang members by the looks of them. Matching bands of filthy red fabric along their wrists. Through the time I had spent on the streets, I had learned to fight and act tough, but there is only so much you can do. After they had subdued me, I was taken by the tallest of them and slung over his shoulder like a bag of grain. One of the others gagged me with a strip of cloth to stop the screams for help that escaped my lips, and tied a bag around my head so that I was blind as well. It was a bumpy ride, and disorienting enough that I could not say where I had been taken. 

When we finally came to a halt I was roughly dumped on the ground. They pulled my hands together and secured them with a rope. The rough thick texture felt like the harbor ropes. Perhaps these kids were joined with the sailors. I supposed I would be finding out soon enough. They pulled the cloth bag back away from my head, along with the gag, and I took in my surroundings. I was sitting on a rotting wooden floor. There were walls, also the wood of an abandoned dilapidated house. It was a small room and there was only one door over to my side. It seemed to lead into another nearly identical room. There was a small cot in the corner and the whole place stank to high heaven. This was where they would leave me. Before dragging me elsewhere, to the place where I would find out why they took me. 

They were really only boys. They were old enough to be considered men by some, but not wise enough. The youngest of them hadn’t even shown the makings of a beard yet. “No making trouble. You stay here.” And with that, all but one of them filed out the doorway. The one that was hanging behind was among the oldest of them. He had a small trimmed beard, messy brown hair. His skin was dark but that was mostly due to the grime. He drew closer too me and I shrunk back in response. His breath stank of bad meat and cheap spirits. His hand darted out and grasped my arm in a severe grip. I flinched away as he yanked me too close. His yellowed teeth flashed in a smile. “You’re mine now.” It was the same voice from before. Maybe he was their leader, he was older and gave orders, maybe that was why they left him with me. At least I knew they weren’t going to sell me as a slave now. If they were, then they wouldn’t want to spoil the merchandise. A mostly healthy virgin that can do basic work goes for far more than a crippled whore. 

I knew this when he reached for my shirt. I struggled and tried to wriggle away. But where was I going to run, I didn’t know where I was and the rest of the group lay between me and the exit. His hands were rough, long nails scraping against the skin of my side. I let out a yell before he grabbed the cloth that had been over my head and stuffed it into my mouth. I screamed against it but all that came out was a muffled choke. I shook my head, tears beginning to stream from my eyes, trying to dislodge the cloth. I could only barely breathe through my nose. 

He tore off my shorts, leaving my skin lying against the cold rotting floor. He worked on pulling off his own trousers. Deep fear pierced my heart, freezing me to my core. No, this couldn’t be happening. After so long working to keep myself away from people, away from this world, I couldn’t have just failed. My breath came in wracking shudders, pulling through me, dragging me back to what he was doing. He shoved his hand up to my chest, seeming disappointed with the lack of substance beneath his fingers. I writhed in a desperate effort to get away, to make it stop, to end this moment forever. He never drew away, only closer.

My back hit the wall, and he pushed me into it, causing a bright bloom of pain in my spine. He pushed into me then, and it felt as though I was splitting apart. Even the cloth gagging my mouth couldn’t disguise the scream. Primal and terrified, the only word I had was no, just no, make it stop. It hurt so much, but worse was the feeling of him moving inside me. I felt myself breaking apart. 

And then he was finished with me, it hadn't taken long. I let out one last whimpering cry, barely audible to my own ears. He pulled his pants back on, and tore the cloth back out of my mouth. I continued to cry, still leaning into the wall behind me, trying to squirm away. He grabbed my jaw and pulled me to face him, “And this will be our little secret, yes? You will tell no one.” he moved my chin up and down in a mimicry of a nod. “Just to make sure you wont.” He pulled out a short weighted stick, and before I could move away it was already cracking against my jaw. Pain shot through me. I couldn’t move any more, it was just too much. My jaw was broken, I could feel that already. I would be effectively mute for a good amount of time now. That was his insurance, so he knew I wouldn’t talk. Sick bastard just dropped me on the ground and sauntered on out without a single look back. 

Some time later another man came in, this one was somewhat cleaner looking, and much older. I remained curled as I was in the corner. He was just there to set my jaw though. He must have been the doctor for this group. He was kind and tried to be somewhat gentle in his work. He handed me back my discarded clothing and left. By then I could lie down and calm my breath. It all swirled together in my mind, and left me empty and numb. The feeling of my skin against the dirt on the floor and the air above me was all I could feel. That’s all there was in the world, nothing more. Anything else was too much, it would be dangerous. And for long moments everything was perfectly still and time did not move, there was only the moment I was in, and nothing was connected. But between those moments wracking shudders swept through me, bringing cold sweat to the surface of my skin. They rushed away from my core, rising from the deep well of pain. But as they left I fell back to the dispassionate detachment of the longer moments. During those I hardly noticed the tears tracing down my cheeks. I would move just a little sometimes, during that first night, just to make sure I still could, that I wasn’t dead yet. 

I didn’t sleep at all. It had been too long without sleep, and I knew it would come for me soon, but I just couldn’t fall. I was frozen in the pain. They came for me in what I assume must have been the morning. Rough hands pulled me to my feet and I stumbled forward for the first few steps, and fell. This repeated until they just gave up and dragged me like a corpse behind them. I let them, my body falling limp. I wasn’t really there; my body must have been empty because I was not inhabiting it at all. 

Eventually I was dragged onto a boat, I had been right about my location, and shuffled below decks. I was deposited into the cargo hold, curled amongst boxes of unknown contents. They retied my hands, along with my feet this time, attaching the ropes to one of the pipes that ran through the cramped space. Not as if I was going to escape anywhere though, the swaying beneath me meant we had begun our voyage, wherever it would lead us. No reason to bother with a gag, the broken jaw would make it terribly painful to call out. 

The cold was not sharp or harsh, just the aching discomfort at a distinct lack of warmth. Shivering became twitching, overspent muscles frantically attempting to create heat.   
The men had abandoned me here, gone above decks without leaving so much as a guard. There was no concern at all over my well being, assuming any damage wouldn't be permanent. With my luck that assumption would be well founded. 

The majority of my time spent in the hold I was still, quiet, and numb, but in one fragile moment, when the boat under me rocked softly, I lost myself. The ropes tore at my skin as I wrenched my shoulders away from my tether. Incoherent shouts uttered from my lips, the protest of my broken jaw ignored and forgotten. I tore at my restraints like a thing possessed. My mind was lost from the moment I began to move, all thoughts of the futility of escape efforts were well and truly dispersed.

When I fell still, all I registered was the pain. Aggressive movement had not been the greatest of plans for me, now my jaw, shoulders, and wrist pulsed with a different sharp ache in each. Warmth seeped along my hands and down my smallest finger. The rough fibers of the ropes must have torn my skin as I struggled against them, but losing a little blood felt good, so much pain without blood is just unnatural. There was nothing I could do if it were to become infected, and that was not a pleasant death, but at least it would not be at their hands. They took me for a reason, and I was ready to die just to spite them for it.

The world was blurring, the rocking of the boat became a dizzying whirl. Just as the black edged into my vision I saw the floor rush up, and a wave of relief so deep and   
strong washed over me that I sank into the darkness with a smile.

The journey was brief, no longer than a day and I had spent most of it unconscious. When the men pulled her out onto the shore though, it could not have been a more different world. It was a rocky bit of land with waves lapping ever closer to a big concrete wall. It ran along the edge of the river as far as I could see into the distance. There was a bridge off to my left, over a mile away and huge. Gigantic stretches of metal hovered over the waves with nothing I could see holding them up. It was like magic, an enormous miracle just sitting out in broad daylight, it seemed wrong somehow, something so incredible masquerading as a piece of ordinary life. 

I didn't get very long to look around. The burlap sack once more covered my face, without the gag this time. I wouldn't be needing it again till my jaw finished healing, and I was marched blindly ahead. This time I really did march, they would not see me so broken and helpless again. I stumbled through a short walk, and tripped up some stairs, and then without warning I was lifted and shoved into some small confined space. I didn't put up much resistance, and the loud slam from above my curled form indicated that I was alone. 

Trapped, in some odd box. The interior was pleasant enough at least, some form of fabric or fiber, not just a plain wooden container then, something nicer. Senseless kindness from my captors had no rhyme or reason to it until the roaring began. It was more of a rumbling for the most part, but along with it came jolts, shocks, and a sickening sense of motion. More transport of course, perhaps in a car this time. I had seen them occasionally, in the wealthier side of the city, but street rats weren't welcome to stay there and gawk for long. 

The bumping rattled my jaw, sending a bright flash of pain to fill my mind. Trying to prevent further injury, I curled my head to my chest and brought my hands up to cradle it. Already the darkness had penetrated my mind, but as the ride continued I could feel my control and resolve slipping away. 

When the jolting finally settled, and the roaring died down, I leaned further away from the outside. Slamming doors, footsteps, and then a brilliant light arrived and burned into my eyes. I was already tucked into the back of the compartment, but even so I attempted to shy away from the grabbing hands that yanked me out and onto my feet. 

“What the? Look at what this bitch did to my trunk! I'll be sending you the bill for repairing my upholstery just so you know.” This voice was unfamiliar, and accented heavily with English. He was examining the claw marks and bloodstains that had been left on the inside of my prison. My nails were ragged, and my hands were covered in dirt mixed with blood, fresh and dried, but this was nothing new. Before I was taken it was quite common for them to be in such a state, but now it held a different significance. 

“Gonna be bloody tough to get her lookin' decent; but I suppose I'll take her anyway. We agreed on 80, yes?” Through a slight daze, I could see a new man approach, a fold of cash in his proffered hand. The man who was holding me up, the leader, the one they had left me alone with, grabbed the money and shoved me forwards. I landed on my knees in the dirt, head bowed, in front of the new man. 

I had been wrong, they were selling me, the leader had been willing to take less money as the price for having his fun. Bad business, but that would be his problem, not mine. Only, now it was my problem, because this foreigner had just become my new owner, and I was unprepared to face this particular situation. Just the thought of this man controlling me burned in my mind. 

The eyes that met mine when I raised my head were dark and unfocused. Anger twitched through his face and he pulled his hand back to strike me. I cowered, bracing myself for the blow that did not come. Just his voice reaching down to deliver the blow, “Good, the bitch knows her place. Glad to see you break them in ahead of time. Nothin' worse than an uppity slave.” Laughter drifted down after, as he found himself quite humorous. 

His laugh was light and quiet, so I am not sure what about it made me panic. I dove for the space between some of the men standing around me, scrabbling for purchase on mossy gravel. My face then became quite well acquainted with these rocks, as my owner swooped down on me. Pain exploded in my jaw, his knee in my spine and the wrench in my shoulder were entirely overwhelmed by it. In fact, the world itself went white and I floated for a second in a sea of untainted agony. Some measure of relief slammed me back into the present moment. It was never going to end, this pain, it would repeat until they killed me, or until I took that upon myself.


End file.
